


thinking out loud

by glazedsun



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Camping, M/M, Prank Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-07 12:57:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4264026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glazedsun/pseuds/glazedsun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Did you mean it?” Liam asked Louis after the other two lads dropped their controllers and began wrestling on the couch, their loud laughter ringing through the room. “When you said we should go camping again.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Louis grinned, wrapping an arm around Liam’s shoulder. “It’s been awhile.”</p>
<p>“Let’s go,” he said suddenly. </p>
<p>or, the boys have a few days off during their us tour, and liam decides they should take a camping trip. shenanigans ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	thinking out loud

**Author's Note:**

  * For [failurebydesign](https://archiveofourown.org/users/failurebydesign/gifts).



> so this started out as a quick birthday fic for failurebydesign, except then it got out of hand and three times the length i expected it to be. and a little more ot4 friendship than i planned, but it's more fun this way. needless to say, it's a bit of a delayed gift, but i hope you (and everyone else) like it anyway!!

They were… somewhere in America. Liam wasn’t really sure exactly where. The country was just too damn big for him to notice whenever the bus crossed another state line. He was already going a bit stir crazy on the bus, and he wanted to get off of it and get some fresh air. After spending an hour trying, and failing, to nap, Liam climbed out of his bunk. He walked down to the common area, where Louis was in a fit of laughs watching Niall and Harry battle it out on Mario Kart. Liam sat down next to Louis, leaning into him with a smile on his face. He watched the game in silence except for a few barks of laughter when Niall tried to distract Harry and get him off of his game.

“Did you mean it?” Liam asked Louis after the other two lads dropped their controllers and began wrestling on the couch, their loud laughter ringing through the room. “When you said we should go camping again.”

“Of course,” Louis grinned, wrapping an arm around Liam’s shoulder. “It’s been awhile.”

“Let’s go,” he said suddenly. They had… well, Liam wasn’t really sure, but he knew that it was awhile before their next tour. Surely they could take a few days in Minnesota before the show to do some camping.

Louis grinned at him, wiggling his eyebrows. “Why, Liam! Plotting an escape from tour! How far you’ve come!” Liam flushed, but grinned. It was true. A few years ago, if Louis had suggested the same thing, he would have listed off all the reasons why doing such a thing was a terrible idea. Now he was the one suggesting it.

“What’s this about an escape from tour?” Harry asked, laying across both Liam and Louis’ laps.

Liam’s hand immediately went into Harry’s mess of curls. He ran his fingers through them, sorting out all the tangles that Niall had caused. “I want to sneak away for a few days and go camping in the woods,” Liam explained, smiling down at the younger boy.

“I’m in!” Niall shouted from where he sat next to Louis, leaning on his shoulder and tickling the back of his neck. “Come on, Haz, what do you say?”

Truthfully, Liam was a bit nervous to what Harry would say. Throughout the tour, before they’d gotten to the USA leg, Harry had kept to himself a bit more than in previous years. Any breaks they had, the boys had seemed to go their own ways for a bit, but especially Harry. Getting away from everyone else would be good, Liam reckoned. They needed the time to just bond and get their dynamic back, find their closeness again and find out how to do it without Zayn. They had each taken their time to deal with Zayn’s departure in their individual ways, but they needed to do it as a group as well. That’s why he was hoping that Harry would be in.

“Only if we bring back singing around the campfire,” Harry said after a moment, a slow grin coming over his face. Niall let out a whoop of excitement, falling onto Harry and embracing him in a hug. Louis and Liam both started laughing, reaching over the two squirming boys in their laps to keep them from falling onto the floor. 

“Deal,” Liam laughed, helping Harry and Niall to sit up just enough that they could all pile onto each other in one big cuddle. 

-

The drive continued overnight, but finally in the early hours of the morning they reached their hotel in Minnesota, where they were supposed to be staying for the remaining days until their show. However, the boys decided they wouldn’t go to the hotel until the day before the show, giving them three nights of camping. Initially, they had wanted to just sneak off, but they decided that at least their security team should know if they were going into the forest for days. Preston was off renting a couple of tents for them, and getting their supplies, while Paddy and Alberto went to check out the site that they’d found. While the boys were staying in their tents, Paddy and Alberto would be staying at the cabins nearby, far enough to give them privacy but close enough that they could be there in minutes if anything went wrong. The rest of the security team would stay back at the hotel, trying not to alert the fans to the fact that the boys weren’t actually in the hotel or the busses.

Once everything was all set up, the boys loaded into a van with their supplies and drove off to meet Paddy and Alberto at the campgrounds. It was relatively busy that time of year, but their team had found them an area away from where the majority of the campers were set up. They found the spot, and threw everything down to start getting set up. Louis opened a folding chair, plopping into it, ready to direct everyone else on what to do.

“Oh no, we aren’t doing this again,” Liam laughed, reaching for Louis’ hand and dragging the protesting boy out of the chair. “You are not just sitting there and letting us do all the work. You are helping.”

“Yeah, tell him, Payno!” Niall laughed from where he and Harry were trying to set up their tent.

Louis whined, but quickly shut up when Liam gave him an unimpressed look. “Fine, but then we are doing something I want to do.” The other boys just shrugged, so Louis followed Liam out to where they had seen some fallen logs they could use for firewood. While Niall and Harry wrestled with getting the tents set up, Louis and Liam handled getting a campfire set up and arranging all their food supplies to keep them safe from any wildlife in the area.

It took them about an hour or two to properly get everything set up, and then they were collapsing into their chairs and Niall was passing out beers from the cooler. They sat around for a bit, making small talk and laughing at one of Harry’s famous long-winded stories. 

“Right then, Tommo,” Liam said after Harry finally finished the story. “What is it you wanted to do in return for doing the set up with us?”

A smirk came quickly to Louis’ face. “I want to prank Alberto and Paddy.”

“And the prank wars begin,” Harry said solemnly, shaking his head.

“You do realize the pranks are mostly going to be at our expense, right?” Niall asked Harry with a laugh. “These two,” he motioned to Liam and Louis, “are totally going to team up and get us.” 

“We’ll just have to fight back,” Harry shrugged.

“Full team effort first!” Louis protested, laughing. Louis went over his idea, and each of the four boys quickly got to work on their parts of the prank that Louis had in mind. Niall was going to call Paddy, claim that Harry wandered off and they needed the guards’ help finding him. While he led them off in the direction Harry “disappeared” in, Liam and Louis snuck into the cabin where the guards were staying. They each went to their own guard’s belongings. 

Liam took all of Paddy’s toiletries out of his bag. “He doesn’t need these. We’re camping! He’s gotta rough it!” He said. He took everything that had been in the bag and hid them in various spots near his bunk. Once the bag was emptied, Liam filled it with bottles of water.

Meanwhile, Louis took all of Alberto’s clothes out of his bag (except the underwear. He so did not want to touch that). He unfolded everything, draping it around the room. He made sure that each sock was far from its missing partner, making it even more difficult for Alberto to pack everything up. 

Once he and Liam were both satisfied with their work, they ran out of the cabin, giggling together until they reached their campsite. They sat behind a tree, making sure to compose themselves before walking the rest of the way, just as the other four were walking up, Harry looking properly shamed for wandering off. 

“There you are!” Liam said, running to Harry and hugging him, trying not to laugh. Maybe Harry wasn’t all that bad of an actor after all.

“No more wandering off without telling someone, all of you,” Paddy scolded gently, looking from one boy to the other. “You’re adults.” They all grinned sheepishly at Paddy, who shook his head and walked back in the direction of the cabin with Alberto following, giving a suspicious glance back to the boys.

As soon as they were out of earshot, all four of them collapsed into their chairs in a fit of giggles. It wasn’t even their best prank, but they still couldn’t help laughing. It had been awhile since they’d all gotten together like this, plotting and scheming and laughing. Suddenly, both Liam and Louis’ phones lit up, probably with texts from the guards. As Louis read them both aloud, in an overdramatic voice, it just set off another round of laughter.

By the time their laughter settled down, the sun was starting to set. Liam and Louis both put their phones away and set about getting the campfire lit, while Harry got dinner started and Niall handled getting beers and his guitar. 

Liam pulled a hoodie on over his t-shirt as he settled back into his seat, graciously accepting a plate of food from Harry. While the four of them sat and ate, they all swapped stories of what they had been up to during breaks between legs of the tour. They’d kept up with each other a little bit while they were apart, but they hadn’t actually sat down and just… had a good conversation like this in a while. It seemed like any time they were together now, all four of them as a group, they were rushed from one place to another or one interview or photoshoot to another. They really needed this.

-

The next morning, Liam woke up to a warm body curled up against his. He blinked his eyes open in confusion, only to remember where they were. Liam yawned and reached up, threading his fingers through his sleeping friend’s hair. They had always been close, but since Eleanor left Louis, and then Zayn left the band, Liam had found himself waking up with the smaller boy clinging to him many nights. It had taken a bit of getting used to, but he really didn’t mind. After a few minutes, it became clear that the boy wasn’t going to be waking up any time soon. Liam sighed, squirming out of his embrace so that he could get up and go find somewhere to relieve himself. Along the way, he spotted Harry up and doing yoga near his tent. He waved, and then continued to take care of what he needed to.

By the time he got back (after doing a bit of exploring), Niall had woken up as well and he and Harry were working on getting some breakfast started. While they cooked, Liam set about getting some plates ready and cleaning up around the fire where the wind had shifted stuff around while they were sleeping.   
It was the smell of food that finally got Louis to emerge from the tent. He went straight for the small camping kettle he had brought, making his tea for the day. Once everything was done, they all settled in to eat in comfortable silence.

After everything was cleaned up and put away, they all decided to go explore for a little bit. Liam had spotted a creek not far from the campsite, while Harry wanted to go deeper in the forest and see what he could find. They split up; Niall with Harry, Louis with Liam. Even though they’d said from the start that they wanted to keep their phones off, they decided it was probably best if they kept them close just in case. 

Liam stayed close to Louis, leading him to the stream that he’d seen earlier. Along the way, they came up with a few different ideas to prank both Harry and Niall, as well as Paddy and Alberto again. All of their plans would require some massive stealth and/or distractions, but they could totally make it work. If anyone could, it was Liam and Louis. Once they got to the stream, they sat down on the bank, watching the water go by slowly. Louis kicked off his shoes and dipped his feet into the water.

“Oh! It’s cold!” He laughed in surprise, swirling his feet around before settling down. “So, Big Payno, why the camping?” 

Liam shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it since you said we should go again. And we haven’t really… had time for the four of us, alone and with no obligations, since Zayn left. I thought it might be nice to really bond.”

“Always looking out for us, Daddy Direction,” Louis said fondly, leaning in to bump his shoulder against Liam. Liam blushed, looking down and grinning. “It was a good idea. This is going to be fun.”

“Absolutely,” Liam agreed with a grin, and then the conversation turned back to their next prank idea.

-

A couple of hours went by. Liam dared Louis to wade down the stream a bit, they talked a lot, and they even worked out the chorus for a new song. They finally started making their way back to camp, weighing their options of which prank they should pull off first. Luck was on their side. When they got back to the campsite, they were the only ones there. Louis cheered, then ran off to start getting everything prepared. Liam laughed, and followed him to help him.

By the time that Harry and Niall actually came back, Liam was in the process of cooking up some lunch while Louis squirted him with a squirt gun. “Really, you brought those?” Harry groaned, but couldn’t help the fond smile on his face.

“Yaaaaa!” Niall yelled, running to grab the squirt gun that Liam had abandoned and going after Louis with it. They chased each other through the trees, their laughter ringing out through the campsite. 

Harry and Liam chatted a bit, before Harry went into his tent to change his shirt. “What the fuck!” He yelped. Dozens of dick drawings covered everything, like little penile confetti. The pieces of paper were strewn everywhere, over their sleeping bags and the ground and even in their bags. It wasn’t their best prank, but the stunned reaction from Harry was still pretty priceless. He shook his head as he walked out of the tent, reaching up to flick Liam on the ear. “Just you wait, Payne. Just you wait.”

“What are you going to do, draw bananas for us?” Liam asked with a wink. Harry just laughed and rolled his eyes, going to sit down in one of the chairs after grabbing a bottle of water from the cooler. “Come on, children, lunch is ready!” He yelled when Louis and Niall ran past. Niall skidded to a stop, knocking into Louis and causing them both to fall over.

“Oi! Watch it, Neil!” Louis cried, poking at Niall’s ribs until he got off. They both dusted the dirt off, then made their way to grab some food and sit down to eat. Liam winked at Louis, trying to let him know that at least Harry had seen their work. Louis just smirked into his food.

The rest of the day passed much the same, with the boys alternating between eating, running around, and playing pranks on each other. At one point, Niall found the time to take a bag of marshmallows and stack them up carefully just inside the opening of Louis and Liam’s tent, so that the only way they could get in was to knock over the barrier- while being careful not to get the treats dirty so they could still have s’mores later. Liam retaliated by hiding Niall’s guitar, filling the case with leaves and twigs. It continued much the same, back and forth.

The four of them finally settled in to relax as the sun was setting. The fire was roaring, and the stars were bright overhead. Liam looked over at Louis, only to flush at the fond look that the boy was giving him. He’d seen that same look so many times before, but never really thought much of it. Seeing Louis under the stars, though, with the fire reflecting off his face, was entirely new. He literally saw Louis in another light, and he felt his heart skip a beat at the realization of just how he felt about his best friend. Liam flushed, looking back at the fire and losing himself in thought a bit as they all finished up eating. 

Once everything was cleaned up, Liam grabbed Niall’s guitar and handed it to him. Niall cried out and hugged the guitar before settling in, strumming his fingers over it. They sang a few songs together, a random mix of covers. It reminded Liam so much of their first camping trip together, when they were just getting to know each other and learn the music each other liked and how they all fit together. In some ways, this trip was similar to that… they knew each other, sure, but there was a different vibe without Zayn there. They all missed him, of course; they always would. But they were learning how to work with this new dynamic, and what better way then around a campfire?

Liam smiled when he realized what song Niall started singing next. “Dance with me,” he said to Louis, standing up and offering his hand. Louis raised an eyebrow, but stood up after a hesitation. They stood near the fire, wrapped up in each other. Together, they let Niall and Harry sing most of the song, until they hit the first chorus.

“So honey now, take me into your loving arms,” Liam sang softly, smiling when he felt Louis’ arms tighten around him. “Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars. Place your head on my beating heart,” he flushed when he felt Louis do just that, resting his head against Liam’s chest. “I'm thinking out loud… maybe we found love right where we are.” Liam’s heart raced as Niall and Harry continued the song, and he and Louis continued to sway together under the stars. 

“Now kiss him!” Harry gently encouraged once the song was finished, Niall making a sound of agreement. Liam turned bright red, but looked down at Louis. 

Louis looked up at him through his long eyelashes. They just stared at each other for what felt like ages, but was really mere milliseconds. Finally, Liam leaned down and Louis tilted his head up, and their lips met in a soft kiss. “I’ve loved you for so long,” Louis admitted before kissing Liam again. Liam barely registered the cheering coming from their two best friends, focusing instead on the gentle press of Louis’ lips against his.

“I’ve just realized I’m falling for you,” Liam murmured when the kiss ended. 

Louis beamed up at him, “Well, I’ll just have to find a way to make you fall all the way in love with me.” He winked, then pulled away from Liam and grabbed his hand, tugging him over to their chairs. He pushed Liam to sit down in the empty chair next to Niall, and then climbed into Liam’s lap. Louis wrapped his arms around Liam’s neck, but not until after he’d given a high five to Niall. Harry started in on the next song, and Liam looked down at the lad snuggled against his chest. I could get used to this, he thought. He smiled down at Louis before looking back up and joining in on the song that the other three were singing. It was official. This whole trip might very well be one of his best ideas.


End file.
